Not only did Venus and Serena flare out early in the Olympic tournament, but Novak Djokovic, who in June became the first man in 47 years to hold all four Grand Slam titles after winning the French Open, lost to Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina in the first round of the men’s singles tournament. After starring with comedian Kevin Hart in a series of short videos airing on social media to promote the Nike+ Training Club, Williams boasted that she “definitely would have won” a sprint competition.
Advertisement
Still, FiveThirtyEight gives Serena Williams with a 55 percent chance of winning the tournament, which would be her 23rd Grand Slam victory and make her the winningest Grand Slam player in Open-era history.
Serena in straight sets, as usual.
“I have always admired her game”. Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, trying to make it to the quarter-finals in NY for the first time, breezed past USA qualifier Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-1 and fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep also eased through with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.
Also on Tuesday’s fixture list for the men is third-seed Wawrinka, who is hoping to leave his mark after crashing out of Wimbledon 2016 at the second round, as well as No. 6 seed Kei Nishikori. Vinci took out Williams in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last year, ending the quest for a calendar year Grand Slam. “I just have to get everything ready for here”. It was a tough opening matchup for Querrey – Tipsarevic is a former top-10 player whose ranking is down to 250th after a series of injuries.
Serena last faced Makarova two years ago at this very tournament, though under very different circumstances as the two battled for a spot in the final.
“This year, I really wanted to bring classic back to tennis”, she says of her latest collaboration with Nike for the Open-a twirling white dress for day matches, a black variation for night, with pops of bold, feminine color flitting throughout. She has often played better at major events than her ranking suggests.
Samantha Stosur has advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 win over Camila Giorgi.
When the Open ends on September 11, Williams will be ranked No. 1 for 186 consecutive weeks, tying her with Graf for the longest such streak of all-time.
Ivanovic, a former No.1 player and 2008 French Open victor has slipped to No.31 in the rankings.
Wearing black sleeves on each arm – she called the accessories “definitely functional” because they “keep my muscles warm” – Williams averaged 108 miles per hour on first serves and won 17 of the first 20 points she served, 36 of 46 overall, never appearing to be the least bit bothered by anything. The injury curtailed her practice time and forced her to withdraw from the important US Open tune-up at Cincinnati.
She kept trying, the pressure seemingly getting the better of her in the most inopportune of moments twice – in the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open.
Canadian favorite Eugenie Bouchard entered unseeded and suffered an early defeat, tallying 46 unforced errors in her 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 loss to Katerina Siniakova as the 2014 Wimbledon finalist continues to struggle to contend for trophies.
Of her quick movement on court, Williams continued: “Well, it’s all I could do with a shoulder injury, was movement”.
“He’s a tough, tough opponent”, Murray said.
Advertisement
Although she appeared untroubled by her shoulder, Williams said the proof of full fitness would come later.
